IU student is 'the biggest loser'

In her thin fingers, Susan Eley holds up a snapshot of herself in college, taken just before she filled an auditorium with her dramatic soprano voice. Her large body was draped in a crimson gown and a powdered beehive wig sat atop her head. She points the image toward her husband, Ben, and asks if he would have noticed her then. \n"Maybe not," he replies, with a hint of hesitation in his voice.\nIt's been a slow process, she says. But in the last five years, the 26-year-old has dropped 100 pounds, going from a size 26-28 to a size four, earning her a chance to share her success story on a special edition of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" airing Feb. 8. Eley, an IU library sciences graduate student, amazed her friends Jan. 18 when she appeared on "The Tyra Banks Show." The crowd roared as a slim Eley burst through a life-sized photograph of herself at her heaviest weight. She strutted down the catwalk in stiletto heels and a form-fitting outfit. Even Banks couldn't conceal her surprise as she scrunched up her face and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness!"\n"When I see myself back then I say, 'Wow, how could I have allowed myself to go that far,'" Eley says, seated on a sofa in her sun-soaked living room. An exercise bike is pushed up against the wall and underneath her couch are two eight-pound dumbbells, a yoga mat and a home step platform. "I was always a happy person, but it's kind of sad to me now that I let myself and my fitness go."\nEley's mother, Julie Landis, says her daughter's genetics and lifestyle are what contributed to her weight gain. \n"I come from a big family, my husband comes from a big family and we made a lot of big dinners and deserts, full of carbohydrates," Landis says. "Susan just fit the mold and that's how it happened. When you're prone to it, it comes along pretty easy."\nEley was overweight for much of her adolescence. In sixth grade, she weighed nearly 175 pounds. Although her weight didn't hold her back from graduating as valedictorian of her high school, it made shopping for prom dresses a nightmare. Nothing off the rack fit, so she had to be measured at a bridal store. On one such occasion, a shopkeeper remarked, "Well, you're awful big." \nThat comment's stuck with her for years. \nBy college, Eley reached her heaviest weight of 245 pounds. As a music education major at the College of New Jersey, she spent all her spare hours in the practice rooms perfecting her scales. Exercise was the last thing she had time for. \n"College was the worst time," Eley says. "I remember eating lots of tuna salad sandwiches, heavy on the mayo, cheese pizza and pints of cookie dough ice cream from the local dairy farm." \nBut in her senior year, Eley decided it was time to change. As an aspiring opera singer, she knew it would take much more than her soprano voice to achieve her dream. And the story of Deborah Voigt troubled her. Voigt, one of the world's premier sopranos, was rejected from a role because of her weight. Eley recalls she was fired because a director envisioned his lead wearing a little black dress, one that certainly wouldn't fit around Voigt's 300-pound frame. \n"A lot of directors out there have that Hollywood mentality," Eley says. "It's amazing that you can get to the top of your field and they can say, 'No, I want a little black dress instead of you.'"\nIn 2000, Eley joined Weight Watchers because she wanted to look good on stage and feel confident during auditions. She also knew that not too far in the future, she wanted to get married. When she was heavy, it was hard enough to find a boyfriend, let alone a husband. So she committed herself to completely changing her lifestyle. \nShe says it wasn't easy, but it worked. She changed what she ate, often opting for spinach salads with orange slices for dinner instead of red meat. Even though Weight Watchers doesn't tell people what to eat -- instead recommending a maximum caloric intake -- she still avoided her weakness: chocolate chip cookies. Within a year, she lost her first 50 pounds. Soon after, she met and married Ben Eley.\nLast February, Eley and her husband moved to Bloomington to pursue their graduate studies. Still not satisfied with her image, Eley not only dieted, but adopted a rigorous fitness routine. She dedicates at least a half-hour each day to exercise, without exception. Even on Christmas, she surprised her family by bundling up and going for a run. Whether it's a 30-minute jog, power-yoga or a step class at the Student Recreational Sports Center, Eley says she is always working to keep fit. \nAfter five years, she's finally dropped 50 more pounds and reached her goal of being a size four. \n"When I went to visit Susan, I was totally surprised," says Eley's college roommate, Anne Vitale. "She was about half the size she used to be. Her face looked different. Instead of just a cheek, you could actually see the bones in her face. It was wonderful."\nEley carted all her "fat clothes" to Goodwill, to reinforce that she's never going to need them again. She no longer has her sights set on being a professional singer, but still plans to audition for small performances when she has time. Her next goal is to move back to New Jersey to become an elementary school librarian.\nShe feels proud of herself, especially for never resorting to any dangerous "quick fixes." Eley also hopes her story will be an inspiration to others battling obesity.\n"I'm a living example that you can lose over 100 pounds the old-fashioned way, with diet and exercise," Eley says. "There always will be that small fear in the back of my head that says, 'What if you gain it back,' but this time, I think I've accomplished it"